Catheter based treatments, including angioplasty and stenting, represent a tremendous advancement in the treatment of obstructive vascular disease. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) of stenotic lesions in peripheral arteries using a balloon dilatation catheter was first reported by Gruentzig et al in 1974 (Percutaneous recanalization after chronic arterial occlusion with a new dilator-catheter modification of the Dotter technique; Dtsch Med Wochenschr Dec. 6, 1974;99(49):2502–10, 2511). The first cases of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of coronary arteries (PTCA) in humans were reported by Gruentzig et al in 1978 (Percutaneous transluminal dilatation of chronic coronary stenosis; First experiences, Schweiz Med Wochenschr Nov. 4, 1978;108(44):1721–3). (See also Gruentzig et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,637, Catheter arrangement, method of catheterization, and method of manufacturing a dilatation element.) The use of a self-expanding vascular stent or endovascular prosthesis to prevent acute reclosure after coronary angioplasty in humans was reported by Sigwart et al. in 1987 (Intravascular stents to prevent occlusion and restenosis after transluminal angioplasty; N Engl J Med Mar. 19, 1987;316(12):701–6). The first angioplasty of the carotid artery in humans was reported by Kerber et al in 1980 (Catheter dilatation of proximal carotid stenosis during distal bifurcation endarterectomy; Am J Neuroradiol 1980;1:348–9). Multiple centers reported results for stent-supported angioplasty of the carotid artery beginning in 1996 (Yadav et al, Angioplasty and stenting for restenosis after carotid endarterectomy. Initial experience. Stroke 1996;27:2075–2079; Wholey et al, Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stents in the treatment of extracranial circulation. J Invasive Cardiol 1996;9:225–31; Dorros, Carotid arterial obliterative disease: Should endovascular revascularization (stent supported angioplasty) today supplant carotid endarterectomy. J Intervent Cardiol 1996;9:193–196; Bergeron et al, Recurrent carotid disease: will stents be an alternative to surgery? J Endovasc Surg 1996;3:76–9; 21; Amor et al, Endovascular treatment of atherosclerotic internal carotid artery stenosis. J Endovasc Surg 1997;4(Suppl 1):1–14.)
Despite this tremendous progress, problems and difficulties remain in the treatment of carotid artery disease by angioplasty and stenting. In particular, the manipulation of catheters in the carotid arteries can dislodge embolic materials, such as thrombotic material and atherosclerotic plaque, which have the potential of being carried distally by the bloodstream into the cerebral vasculature and causing ischemic damage in the brain. (Naylor et al, Randomized study of carotid angioplasty and stenting versus carotid endarterectomy: a stopped trial. J Vasc Surg 1998;28:326–34; DeMonte et al, Carotid transluminal angioplasty with evidence of distal embolisation. J Neurosurg 1989;70:138–41.)
Methods and devices for embolic protection have been devised to reduce the potential risks of embolization and ischemic damage during carotid angioplasty (Theron et al, New triple coaxial catheter system for carotid angioplasty with cerebral protection. AJNR 1990; 11: 869–874) and during carotid stenting (Theron et al, Carotid artery stenosis: treatment with protected balloon angioplasty and stent placement. Radiology. December 1996;201(3):627–36). (See also Theron, U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,742, Method for the widening of strictures in vessels carrying body fluid, and Theron, U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,005 Ballon catheter for stent implantation. The disclosures of these and all patents and patent applications referred to herein are incorporated by reference.) Distal embolic protection devices currently available for use in performing protected angioplasty and stenting of carotid arteries include filter devices to capture potential emboli and occlusion balloon catheters combined with aspiration to remove potential emboli. The commercially available systems tend to be costly and somewhat cumbersome to use. Another disadvantage of using distal embolic protection devices is that placement of the device distal to the treatment site tends to cause a spasm of the distal cervical internal carotid artery, which can sometimes lead to serious complications. Other approaches, such as retrograde blood flow or proximal occlusion of the carotid artery, have not yet been shown to be effective at reducing embolic complications. What is desired therefore is a simple and effective method of performing protected angioplasty and stenting of carotid arteries that effectively reduces embolic complications and which is free from complications due to spasm of the distal cervical internal carotid artery.